Movie Review-Citadel

Meet Tommy Cowley when the film begins, he seems to be just a normal guy in a normal housing building. He is packing up his car, as him and his pregnant wife are packing up the car, Tommy goes in the elevator and its jammed, well while he is stuck inside he witnessed what seems to be three hooded children in the hall way getting closer and closer to his pregnant wife while he cannot get out. Well, when he finally does get out it seems that they brutally attacked her. From that scene we fast forward nine months later, and now Tommy is a dad and his wife is comatose. Tommy also has become agoraphobic, and is trying to piece it all together, who the kids were, where they came from and why did they hurt his wife. Tommy friends a nurse who tries to help him face his fears, but he also meets a priest who cusses a lot and warns Tommy that his kid is in danger that they are coming to get him. Soon, Tommy is not sure what to do as the nurse is trying to tell Tommy that every thing is ok and that the Priest is insane, and a Priest who is telling Tommy that he has to burn down the place where the kids reside before it is too late.

The Citadel is one of those films that I think some people are really going to praise and love, and others are going to not be so happy about it. It has a good tension, and gives great depth on the character of Tommy and his plight. The problem with the film is that it just feels like we have seen it all before, and way better. The first thirty minutes of the film to me is the best, it really builds up the story that when Tommy is being stalked or haunted depending on how you look at it, that the film had a lot going for it. The problem is that the other two parts of the film just seem to go with the flow and did not try to stand out or really try to be different. Now, I know for some that may not be a knock, I mean to look at the box office takes on some films I know people like the same old formula, but for a horror fan like me, it just starts to get old and depressing after a while.

A lot of the scenes that put some of the characters in peril, made really no sense. For a film that tried to look smart and sophisticated in the first part to dumb itself down was really such a mistake. The payoff to the whole film was so cheaply done, and I will not spoil it, but I know for me to know I sat thru this to get to that climax, was not something I am happy about. I expected this film from the mood of the film and what it was offering to throw us some bones, give us a twist, give us something creative, and I will not talk about the reveal later in the film, that just felt like something that was said only because they could not find any other way to end a scene, and thought that would be clever. The film had its moments, and I felt the Tommy character was really well written, I just wish the supporting characters did not feel like background pieces and really offered more to their roles and the film. There are so many horror films to choose from, and I mildly call this a horror film, while the blood is nonexistent, the film had horror and suspense elements. Maybe a rental, let me just put it this way, this film will divide fans and some people will get into it and really praise it, I wish I was one of those.